


Too Soon and Not Soon Enough

by Rueitae



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Galra invade Earth early, Gen, everyone is in a ton of trouble
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2019-08-06 01:23:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16378721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rueitae/pseuds/Rueitae
Summary: 13-year-old Keith is set to join the Galaxy Garrison next school year, unfortunately an alien invasion changes the plan a bit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For Keith's birthday week 2018. Just a quick look into the AU.

A sharp whistle rang through the air just before an explosion rattled the ground. Keith faltered, leaning into a wooden table leg for stability, holding on as if his life depended on it. He held firm, eyes shut tightly, until the shaking stopped.

The laser fire from the Galra ships grew closer.

“ _East coast base, do you read? Southwest base under heavy enemy fire. Please respond!_ ”

He was small enough still to fit under his father’s old work bench, the only place in the shed where he could have an extra roof above his head. 

He picked up the handheld radio - standard Galaxy Garrison issue - and played with the frequencies, hoping to find any other signal and if anyone was nearby. 

Static. Static. Static. “ _Does anyone read? This is Galaxy Garrison Southwest. Repeat. All runways are destroyed. Heavy casualties. Structural stability failing. ...Is anyone out there?_ ” Static. 

Keith gulped, his chest tight. This had been a bad idea. He was a teenager now, he was supposed to know better. Shiro certainly seemed to think so despite their first meeting, going as far as to vouch for his student admission. Even so, he knew this had to be the dumbest thing he’d ever done. He should have stayed at the group home, where he was sure the other kids had been ushered to the safety of the bunkers underneath the Galaxy Garrison facility.

Even those might not be safe anymore.

No, something had pulled him back out to the open desert - beckoned him back to his childhood home, where he still felt the most secure even if his father wasn’t with him anymore.

So Keith had gathered up all of his favorite things in his backpack, but also for survival as his father had taught him. He included a change of clothes, the radio, and some food and water. He slipped away and left in the chaos of the alien invasion.

The familiarity of the place made Keith feel safe. The smokey smell of the fire that had taken the house and his father no longer lingered, but in the confines of the shed Keith could still smell the oak shavings and motor oil.

He kept his backpack on him, afraid to lose his supplies and his precious childhood heirlooms at any moment. He held the radio in one hand, the other gripping a knife that once belonged to his mother. It was all he had of her.

Keith’s father had shown him the basics. He knew how to skin an animal and use it to protect himself. But that was it. He had a knife and an old wooden building as his only protection against the aliens with lasers and beam cannons.

The hum of a scouting ship dominated the air. Keith slid as far back as he was able, hearing the definitive thud of it landing too near for comfort. The aliens had been on the news for days now and despite his caregiver’s best efforts, Keith and the other children had seen the footage of the spaceships landing all across the globe, taking prisoners and devastating cities.

Ranveig, the commander in charge, had made it explicitly clear what he was here for: the Blue Lion of Voltron and the enslavement of planet Earth, or destruction if they so much as resisted.

There had been resistance, but now there were precious few Galaxy Garrison sites left standing. Realistically Keith knew that no matter where he was on Earth, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

Heavy footsteps pounded on the compact sand and Keith could see the boots of an approaching figure through the uneven planks of the wall. The figure stopped only long enough to open the creaky door.

Keith clenched the hilt of the knife, the skin on his bare palms twisting uncomfortably. It seemed he would have to fight sooner than later.

Tall, purple, alien. Just like on the television. She, head full of hair, eyes … less hard than Keith was expecting.

Why had she bothered to use the door?

Her eyes scanned the room diligently, and Keith forced himself to stay as still as possible and tame his increasingly heavy breaths. Hidden behind empty boxes and tools, she couldn’t see him from her current angle. He grit his teeth and steeled himself for a fight. He needed her to get closer if he was going to have any chance.

“Are you here? It’s Krolia,” she said. “I don’t have much time. I need to get both of you out of here before Ranveig calls me back.”

Keith didn’t move a muscle. His heart betrayed him though.

"Cliff?" she asked to the air. "Please answer me."

Keith caught a gasp before it could escape his mouth. She knew his father's name. The wheels in his mind turned, unable to grasp why or how she knew his father.

She continued to look around, becoming more frantic by the second and getting closer to Keith's hiding spot. Keith clutched his knife even tighter. If she kept on this path she would definitely find him.

He needed to catch her off guard.

Static. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Keith froze. Not just at the unexpected voice coming through on the previously empty frequency, but to whom it belonged.

Shiro.

“ _This is Lieutenant Takashi Shirogane of Galaxy Garrison Southwest. If anyone is listening please - please do not come into the Garrison. We’re overrun. Fighters are clearing the way for a battlecruiser to land. I’m bunkered in the commissary with two cadets. Commander Holt - Sam - if you’re listening, Katie is with us and she’s fine. I repeat, this is Lieutenant -_ “

The Galra hasn’t moved, her mouth parted slightly, listening almost as intently as Keith was as Shiro repeated his message.

Shiro was still alive and she knew where he was, Keith realized with dread. He was not going to let her find him. He owed the man for giving him a second chance.

Refusing to think through his next action any further, Keith jumped out of his hiding place and pointed the blade at the Galra soldier. His hands shook even though both tightly held onto the hilt. He set his most serious expression onto his face.

“I’m taking your ship,” Keith said in the most authoritative voice he could manage. “I need to go rescue Shiro.”

Her eyes widened and her lips parted when she saw him, and made no move to attack him. 

"Keith," she stated with clear relief, "you're safe."

Keith felt his brain break, fear seizing him anew. 

"H-how do you know my name?" he sputtered the first words on his mind.

Krolia did not respond right away, and Keith could almost hear the cogs turning in her own mind as she decided on how to answer him.

She stepped forward. "We don't have time," she said shortly. "I can answer all of your questions later, and maybe I can help you with your friend. First I need to know where your father is."

Keith stepped back, knife still pointed out in front of him. "Why would you want to know that? Why would you even care? You're invading Earth!"

She approached Keith even after he was backed up against the wall. Reaching out, she grabbed his wrists, her hands completely encased his own. Reaching underneath his palms she popped the knife out, disarming Keith completely. The knife flew into the air and she caught it by the hilt. She examined it, a neutral expression on her face. 

“Give that back! Dad gave that to me!” Keith demanded. For a fleeting moment, he considered running. He didn't know where he'd go to in the desert, or how long he could survive completely on his own. 

He was severely outclassed, but he was not leaving without that knife. He launched himself at her, desperately grabbing for his mother’s heirloom.

Krolia held him back easily with one hand, making no effort to truly subdue him.

"I know," she said quietly, “I’m the one who gave it to him.” 

Keith's flight instincts left as he let her words sink in. 

Skillfully, she twisted the blade around and gave it back to Keith hilt first. He took it but did not point it at her again. "Keith, please, come with me. We'll find your father later, but it’s too dangerous to stay here."

"Dad is dead," Keith said bluntly. Impossible feelings welled up inside of him. That knife had belonged to his mother. The same knife this alien claimed to once possess. The alien who knew his and his father's names unprompted. 

A sob caught in his throat. This couldn't be happening.

Something like grief flashed across Krolia's eyes, and Keith couldn't ignore the conclusion he reached any longer. The emotion was true and was the same look he'd seen in the mirror on numerous occasions.

Suddenly the question of why his mother left him became more complicated, more pressing, more hurtful.

"I see," she finally said. Her eyes hardened. "Let's hurry then. You'll be safer on my ship." She turned around, pausing at the doorway. "Are you coming?"

Keith clutched the knife close to his chest. "You promise you'll tell me everything?" he asked.

"Yes," Krolia promised. 

Keith knew when adults lied; their eyes would betray them. He could not find any trace of a lie in this woman’s eyes.

Emboldened he stepped forward, knife lowered. He picked up the radio, still switching between static and Shiro’s pleas for help. He held it up to her. 

“If… if you’re really - ” Keith can’t quite bring himself to say it yet. “Please save them.”

There is conflict in her eyes now. “I’m not sure we have time. I need to make sure Ranveig doesn’t get his hands on the Blue Lion.”

“I’ll help make sure he doesn’t, and I know Shiro will help too. Please,” Keith begged.

She sighed and Keith’s spirits rose. Her posture showed that she listened to him. Adults hardly ever did that for him

“Very well. But we must hurry,” she said, turning towards the door. “Ranveig will be landing in this area and the scouting ships will increase. They will find the Blue Lion eventually and I need to get you off planet. You won’t be safe here any longer.”

Keith readily left his position by the wall and joined his mother in heading out the door and directly into her fighter, less terrified for his life, but still fearful for what he was about to learn.

For now he held back his pressing questions. He had to focus on his mission to rescue Shiro, and then it seemed only right to keep Ranveig from getting what he wanted. Only then he could learn the answers to questions he had been asking his entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few hours, dozens of destroyed fighters, and one rescue later…
> 
> Krolia: This is the Blue Lion, I need to get it out of Ranveig’s hands somehow.  
> Shiro: It’s… a little big to pick up and move. We’ll have to pilot it.  
> Krolia: It isn’t that simple, the Lions only respond to pilots of their choosing.  
> Hunk: Well, Katie and I are the only non-pilots here, it’s gotta like one of you.  
> Katie: I will be a pilot one day thank you very much!  
> Keith: The barrier is solid, how do we get in to find out?  
> Lance: Maybe you just have to knock? *knocks*  
> *barrier goes down and Blue roars and gives them all a vision of Voltron*  
> Krolia: *eye twitches in disbelief*
> 
>  
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://rueitae.tumblr.com/)


	2. The Common Tongue of You Loving Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krolia honors Keith’s request to rescue Shiro, leading to the discovery that Lance can fly the Blue Lion. But now they’re in the fight of their lives and must make a hard choice. Keith makes a realization about Krolia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t planning on writing more, but I received a prompt (the title of this chapter) and tried to convey words. I’m not sure if it worked or not.

Keith could cut the tension in the cockpit with a knife. His own stomach coiled into a knot as the Blue Lion flipped, rolled, and dodged yet another round of fire from the two Galra battle cruisers that chased them. 

Lance’s hands were shaking. He gripped the controls of this… alien war machine so tightly they paled. 

The machine - this  _ Lion _ \- that allowed him, and only him, to pilot it. 

“This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. I wanna go home!” Hunk was openly hysterical, gripping the back of the pilot’s seat and sobbing, eyes shut tight. 

Katie’s side ponytail bobbed and swayed, as she clung to Shiro’s arm, keeping both eyes on the battle outside the ship. With each bang from enemy fire, she held him closer.

“You’re doing great, Lance,” Shiro said calmly. “Pull up!” he followed in panic. Shiro kept his other hand on the back of the seat, offering what encouragement he could to Lance, but fear was still easy to spot in his eyes. 

To his credit, Lance reacted and flew them out of the way of another blast. “I’m trying, I’m trying!”

Keith tried to keep tabs on the battle, but he was scrunched between Hunk and Shiro… and Krolia. 

“Steady, Lance. The Blue Lion knows what to do, let it guide you.” Krolia’s patience wore thin, though she remained even tempered through grit teeth.

“O-okay,” Lance responded nervously. He took two deep breaths and closed his eyes. All were silent but for their rapidly beating hearts.

Keith clutched his sweatshirt, only now noticing how his hands trembled. Terrified as he was, he preferred if he were the one in the pilot seat. Or Shiro, or even Krolia, not the kid at the bottom of the simulator scores.

A large purple purple hand wrapped around his upper arm. Keith knew it was supposed to be comforting, but the unfamiliarity made him freeze. 

Krolia removed her hand and his heart filled with guilt. She’d saved him, Shiro, and these other kids, risking her life to do so. She told him the truth. 

She was his  _ mother _ .

And here he was, pushing away yet another adult - the most important adult he’d probably ever meet. He wanted to yell at her; where had she been all these years? He was half alien? How did she meet Dad? So many questions lay at the tip of his tongue.

But not here while they were running for their lives, in front of a bunch of other kids who’d sooner make fun of him, judge him. It was bad enough they knew he was part  _ alien _ .

He’d never be normal enough to have friends his age anyway.

“I… I think it has weapons,” Lance said, still jittery. “Maybe we can fight our way ouuuuuut — “

A beam stronger than any fighter jet of Earth blasts from the Lion’s mouth. The kickback sent Keith colliding into Krolia, his backpack crunching against her. Her arms wrapped tightly around him and it’s the only reason he doesn’t go to the floor like Hunk, Shiro, and Pidge.

She protected him. 

His brain registered that he held something - Krolia’s armor. His hands gripped her arm plating desperately. Oh no, she probably hated him for brushing her off moments ago.

“S-sorry,” he told her, taking his hands back and grabbing fistful of sweatshirt in each. He couldn’t look at her and he hated it. 

Lance let out a loud, sharp laugh. “Take that invaders!” he said with a confidence he hadn’t displayed since encountering the enemy ships. 

“Then get us out of here!” Katie yelled as she pulled herself up using the pilot seat. 

“Does this thing have a really fast setting?” Keith asked hurriedly. There was no way they could fight here with one ship…

Lance turned around in his seat, facing them with distress on his features. “I’m going as fast as I think I can go!”

The Blue Lion roared. Ahead of them, a circular object appeared out of nowhere. 

“What - what’s that?” Hunk fretted. “Is it going to eat us?”

Lance gulped. “Blue wants us to go through it.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “It’s a wormhole.”

Katie’s jaw dropped. “No one’s seen one before, let alone able to create one,” she said in awe.

“There’s no way we can stay and fight with just the Blue Lion,” Krolia said stiffly. “We must go through in order to escape Ranveig.”

Keith had no real love of Earth besides the happy memories of growing up in his father’s care, but the others had much stronger reactions.

“Where does it go?” Katie asked softly, as if she almost didn’t want to know.

“When can we come back?” Hunk followed up, his voice rose in octave as he spoke. “Our families are still on Earth. What’s going to happen to them?”

The cockpit went silent. Krolia closed her eyes. 

“Krolia, please answer them,” Shiro said, his demand weaker with the fear in his eyes. 

Krolia sighed. “There is no debate. Lance is the Blue Paladin. Zarkon will chase him to the ends of the universe. If you want any semblance of safety, he must get as far away from Zarkon’s commanders as possible.”

Lance paled, hands shaking. “What about… my family?”

“They will be safer the further away from them you are,” she said quickly. “Hurry, the ships will be upon us soon.”

Lance was no friend of Keith’s, choosing to join the bullies rather than stay out of it like most kids.

But right now, Keith felt awful for him. He had a weapon to fight the Galra invaders, to save his family, but  _ couldn’t _ .

If his father were still alive…

“We should fight,” Keith blurted. 

“No, not this time,” Krolia said firmly. “You will when you are older, but — “

“We have part of Voltron, we can fight!” Katie chimed in. “My family is back on Earth too!”

Hunk bit his lip. “But we don’t have enough firepower… maybe we can sneak in later…”

Lance fought back tears. “Shiro,” he choked, “what should we do?”

Shiro clearly doesn’t know, he’s torn as well. But his posture straightened and his eyes harden, looking like the Galaxy Garrison poster boy he was.

“Krolia is right. We can’t do anything for Earth right now, but maybe we can find help if we go through the wormhole.”

Krolia nodded. “The Blade of Marmora has ample resources to assist you, especially since the Blue Paladin is among us.”

Lance does not look comfortable. He twitched, his eyes averting the gaze of everyone. For a boy who loved attention, he does not welcome it now.

“Well,” Lance attempted to say with swagger, though his eyes said otherwise, “let’s go find a way to save the day then.”

“I swear you will all be safe once you are outside the range of Zarkon’s eyes.” She lowered her head. “I’m... sorry he found out the Blue Lion was on Earth.”

It clicks for Keith then, why Krolia left. Why her arms around him are so firm. To protect the Blue Lion.

To protect him.

Adults always said they loved him, but none ever showed they meant it, leaving him unadopted and not listened to.

Shiro was the first since his father to put action with his words. 

Krolia had too, leaving to keep Zarkon from finding Earth. 

She loved him. 

Keith braced as they entered the wormhole. Now he just had to find a way for his heart to believe it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the connection to the title maybe isn’t apparent. I was thinking about love language and Keith and Krolia are very much action oriented to show others how much they love them. Keith is just realizing this is how Krolia showed she loves Keith. And Keith does a similar thing in giving Lance some comfort, offering to fight for his family, for all their families.
> 
> The decision making of the team more mirrors the conversation about fighting and running from Sendak in canon because in this AU... that conversation won’t happen. 
> 
> I sort of have a direction to go further with this, but not sure on all details yet. It may take more prompts to move this forward and develop themes.
> 
> Thank you again for everyone’s interest in this thing, I was really warmed when I posted the first chapter. I’ll see what I can do!


End file.
